The Creative Process #11 Luna Amară (w/ Mihnea Blidariu)

When did you start making music and what was the contributor factor that made you to do so?

Hi! I started learning music from the 1st grade in school and then, much later, in the 7th grade or something like that, I started composing with some friends from my class. My mom encouraged me a lot and I went to music school, so there you have it, the whole context that was, in a way, the starting point for my musical career…

How hard was it for you to create, record and release your first material?

Well, alongside my colleagues and good friends from LUNA AMARA, I composed a lot since the creation of the band, in 1999. Our first record was released in 2004. I would say the composing was (and is) easier in comparison to recording and releasing…at least for an underground alternative metal band from Romania…

What is the main art form that influenced you in creating? Was it only music or did movies and other forms of art influenced your creative process?

I would say music, literature and film, in that order. Maybe it is so for me cause I am also a writer…from time to time…

What are the steps that an idea takes before becoming a fully fledge song? And how does that idea affects the way you build an album from the ground up?

Well, usually someone from the band comes to the rehearsal and says “got this idea, what do you think?…” And we build together from that point and that idea is filtered through everyone’s mind and heart and from one man’s idea becomes a band’s idea and eventually a new song. We are kind of old school, in a way, meaning that we regard an album as a whole, with the songs being parts of that whole, so even if the song has a life of its own, it has to be also a part of a bigger story…

What do you consider the most important traits that a song and an album must have before you consider it to be completed?

A message, a “red line”, musical diversity and all the band’s members sentiment of fulfilment.

What are the actual steps that you take when you are creating? Do you need to enter or go to a certain setting in order to get creative?

Oh, no. Ideas don’t wait for your mood or favorite creative set up. Sometimes they come to me when I’m on the street, or when I’m making love, or when I protest, or when I just smoke a cigarette out on the balcony… I try not to write them down on the spot, but rather to keep’em in mind and play them on repeat there until I go to rehearsal and show them to the boys…

Except art are there any other external or internal factors that influence you when you create, if so what are they?

Yes, people and this fucked up society. Actually, these two are more of an influence to me than any other form of art…

What is your main motivation to create and be creative?

My state of mind and heart and a better world for all.

How long does it take to go from a song to an album from scratch to the fully recorded version?

I would say between 1 and 3 years, in the case of LUNA AMARA. Other bands…it depends, look at Tool for example…

Do you take multiple takes of the songs before settling on the final version or do you go with the flow and just do one take?

Usually multiple takes, cause if I listen tomorrow what I sang today I might get a better idea about the interpretation, or some lyrics, or the arrangement…

During live shows what do you like to do more, experiment and improvise on the basis of the existing album and songs or you are more likely to recreate the recorded material as faithfully as possible?

We set our live show’s playlist as a journey through all our music and all our feelings and states of mind. That is already kind of a lot for the audience and for us…so there’s not so much room to improvise, but sometimes it happens…

What are the main ingredients that makes a live show special for you?

An audience that understands the message, good sound, good sound engineer and enough room on the stage.

Do new ideas appear during live performances? If so how to do you proceed in order to materialize them?

During live shows, no, not for me. But during soundchecks, quite often, yes… If there is time, we jam a little, just enough to pin the idea in everyone’s minds…

What is the perfect time of day and weather that makes you creative?

Warm and weird nights.

What are your future plans and what advice do you have for people that want to get into creating music?

A new album in the fall and hopefully more writing for me, personally. Be honest with yourselves and never doubt that music can move the mountains.